1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for making an improved direct expanded snack food and, more particularly, to a method for making a direct expanded or puffed extrudate having high contents of protein and healthy oils with a real peanut taste and shape, and texture characteristics similar to conventionally produced puffed snack products.
2. Description of Related Art
Puffed snack food products are popular consumer items for which there exists a great demand. Snacks can also play a large role in the diet of consumers, and consumer demand for healthy snacks has dramatically increased. Peanuts and other types of nuts are a preferred food item from a nutrition standpoint due to their high protein content and healthy oil content. Many nuts also have high fiber content, which has been attributed to reducing a person's risk of certain cancers, diabetes, digestive disorders, and heart diseases, as well as aiding weight management. Studies have also shown that people who consume nuts on a regular basis are less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease and can lower their LDL cholesterol levels, probably due to the fatty acid profile of nuts.
A healthy, nutritious snack should ideally meet several criteria that include limits on fat, including saturated and trans-fatty acids, cholesterol, sodium, and added sugar. Preferably, the criteria should also include products formulated to have specific health or wellness benefits. Specifically, a nutritious snack might contain, per 1 ounce serving, no more than 5 g of fat, 1 gram or less of saturated fat, zero trans-fatty acids, less than 25% calories from added sugar, and no more than 240 milligrams of sodium.
Although peanuts can be consumed raw or cooked in their natural form, some people find that consuming whole peanuts is undesirable due to their hard, chewy texture. It would be an improvement in the snack industry, therefore, to provide consumers with a peanut-based snack product with a lighter, crispier texture than whole nuts.
Prior art direct expanded products, such as snacks produced and marketed under the Cheetos® brand label, are typically made by extruding corn meal and/or other raw materials through a die having a small orifice at high temperature and pressure. The water vapor pressure in the hot extrudate causes expansion, or puffing of the extrudate as it exits the small orifice. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,772, assigned to the same assignee of the present invention, the typical ingredients for the starting raw material consists of corn meal and water, and the typical extrudate is a cylindrical “rod” shape because the typical die orifice is circular in shape. Also, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,772, product shape and appearance is an important factor considered by consumers of snacks.
It would be an improvement in the art, therefore to provide an extruded, puffed, peanut-based snack with a high nutritional value, shaped like a peanut, and which simulates the organoleptical properties, including texture, of a conventionally produced puffed snack product.